OAKLAND — Even when an opponent is at full strength, the Warriors are a tough team to beat.

With star Anthony Davis sidelined Friday night, the New Orleans Pelicans were no match as Golden State rested its regular starters in the fourth quarter of a 112-96 victory at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors trimmed to three their magic number to clinch their first division title since the 1975-76 season. They also won their 10th straight meeting with the Pelicans.

Harrison Barnes delivered his second consecutive big game, leading the Warriors with 22 points. He carried the team on a night in which Stephen Curry missed his first seven 3-pointers and Golden State (55-13) played without Klay Thompson for the second time since he sprained his ankle Monday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I love his aggressiveness, looking for his shot and attacking the rim,” coach Steve Kerr said of Barnes. “He’s got a lot more to his game than we’ve seen. I think part of that is he’s been playing in the starting lineup with Steph and Klay, and sometimes he becomes the guy standing in the corner.”

That wasn’t the case in this game. Just one of Barnes’ 13 shots was from 3-point range as he attacked the rim and finished 9 of 13 from the floor.

Barnes said he isn’t giving much thought to being a replacement for Thompson’s scoring, even if that has been the outcome the past two games.

“Whether guys are out or hurt or whatever, we have so much depth that guys can just step up and we can compensate for it,” Barnes said. “I just try to go out there and just be loose and whatever happens, happens.”

For Barnes, who had 25 points in Wednesday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks, this was the first time in his regular season career he has topped 20 points in consecutive games. The third-year player did accomplish that feat in his rookie year in the playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Warriors led by 11 at halftime but watched a watered-down New Orleans squad trim the deficit to five points with less than five minutes to go in the third period.

Besides the absence of Davis, the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer who sprained his ankle Thursday in a morning shoot-around, the Pelicans were without center Omer Asik (strained calf), and point guard Tyreke Evans was limited with a sprained ankle. Evans, New Orleans’ second-leading scorer, had just two points in 15 minutes of action.

Two other double-digit scorers have already missed extended time. Point guard Jrue Holiday (15.2 points per game) missed his 32nd straight game with a stress reaction in his lower right leg, and sixth man Ryan Anderson (14.6 ppg) missed his 14th straight game with an MCL sprain.

Curry finally got going late in the third quarter, nailing two 3-pointers as Golden State blitzed New Orleans with 20 points in the final 4 ½ minutes of the period. The Warriors took an 86-68 lead into the fourth quarter, and the bench finished out the game. Justin Holiday was the only starter who saw action in the final quarter.

Three reserves finished in double figures, led by Marreese Speights’ 13 points. Leandro Barbosa scored 12, and Andre Iguodala had 10. The bench combined for 56 points, equaling the total of the starters.

Coach Steve Kerr said Thompson will be evaluated Sunday and could return to the lineup as soon as Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards.

He sprained his right ankle in Monday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers and will sit out his third straight game when the Warriors host the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.

“We’ll see how he responds in the next couple of days with getting on the floor, running and go from there,” Kerr said.

Kerr confirmed that Thompson will join the team for its four-game trip beginning Tuesday at Portland.